The zodiacal light — what is it?

When the Sun sinks behind the horizon and the lights of sunset fade, in their place, you can see the mysterious zodiacal light which extends upward from the heavenly border, forming a pale luminous triangle. Ruslan Merzlyakov photographed the phenomenon on 5 February from Lønstrup, Denmark.

"It was a truly magical evening. The zodiacal light was clearly visible to the naked eye!" — said the photographer.

The zodiacal light is sunlight reflected from interplanetary dust. The dim glow is elongated along the Ecliptic plane, occupying the region of the zodiacal circle. February, March and April are the best months for observation, since at this time the Ecliptic is above the horizon almost vertically.

Since the zodiacal light is very weak, it might need exceptional dark. The night of the new moon, when the Moon lights up the sky, the most suitable. It can be observed how after sunset and before sunrise. Next new moon expected on March 6 and April 5.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»